Feeding a new puppy is a minefield and you will receive advice from friends, family, your vet, what you read online and your local petshop, but ultimately you are in control of what you choose to feed your new puppy.
We are here to provide the solution if you choose to feed your puppy a sustainable plant-based diet. It is absolutely possible as long as these criteria are met -
- Puppies need extra protein for the various growth stages, a higher requirement for Omega 3’s for mental development (especially arachidonic acid for brain development)
- A need to acidify their urine even more than in adults to prevent puppy cystitis so make sure that Methionine is added to their food
- A need for the Calcium and Phosphate ratio to be just right to prevent bone deformities
- A higher need for Zinc combined with Copper for fur growth (We recommend this supplement containing 15mg Zinc and 1 mg Copper)
- High protein for rapid growth
WHAT ELSE DO WE RECOMMEND FOR PUPPIES?
If your puppy has an intolerance to soya, and cannot eat the Benevo puppy food, we recommend HOWND dry food that has a protein level of 28% and no soya at all and it is grain free.
We highly recommend using Give A Dog A Bean or Jumping Jack in trays as a wet food to add to Benevo puppy as it provides the extra vegetables needed to actively feed your puppies gut microbiome effectively. It also has a high protein level of 29% on a dry matter basis ideal for growing puppies.
Human foods that can be fed include tofu (raw or crumbled and cooked with nutritional yeast), cooked kale, raw broccoli and carrots, berries, hemp protein, rice or pea protein, cooked and mashed beans, peas or chickpeas, nori seaweed, textured vegetable protein cooked with polenta, pure nut butters such as peanut butter, cashew butter or almond butter and any of the plant-based milks with oats.
As a vet, I advise delaying neutering your large dog until they are fully grown adults and if giant breeds, delay until at least 2 years of age. Studies have shown that large dogs and giant breeds require the extra oestrogen for calcium absorption and the extra testosterone for bone strength. It also has a behavioural calming effect instead of neutering them when they are young and insecure without the extra testosterone. This delayed neutering has also been shown to prevent arthritis later on as your dog ages due to the oestrogen and testosterone effect. (Nothing to do with nutrition, but advice for puppies in general that I felt had to be shared:)
Dr Arielle Griffiths BVSc MRCVS
“We weaned our rescue puppy Oslo onto a plant based diet using the Just be Kind Puppy Package and 6 months later she has thrived and grown into a happy and healthy dog!
Many thanks as we could not have done it without your help.”
Oslo, Rescue Puppy
